Question

1. One of the inequalities in health is neglected women in research; however, there are a number of justifications given for women’s exclusion. Name and explain three of this justifications.

2. There are psychological influences that might have importance for understanding the relationship between health outcomes and social class and ethnicity, stress is one of them. Briefly, explain this relationship.

Answer 1

There are several justifications provided in order to explain the neglect and exclusion of women in health research:

1. The first is the perceived need to protect the reproductive capacities of women and to protect their foetuses, reinforcing the view that women’s reproductive duties are to be prioritised over everything else. Relatedly, there is a tendency to believe that a certain age group of women are likely to have a child and therefore should not be included in studies at all.
2. The second is the assumption that the physiological functioning of women are somewhat more complex than that of men, making it more challenging to conduct research using them as participants.
3. The third is the view that for certain diseases, men have been found to be more at risk in comparison to women and have consequentially be the focus of the study.

Please post the other questions separately.